Susana Villa, & Dr. Lindsey Trimble O’Connor
Juvenile incarceration is when a child (boy or girl) under 18 years of age commits delinquent crimes and he or she is punished. Their punishments can include incarceration time which is when juveniles are placed in a correctional facility. Much research has been conducted on incarcerated juveniles and whether juveniles after release will receive a higher level of education or not. This study in particular is important because it shows the importance of educational achievements and how that can be a turning point for juvenile offenders. While studies often examine gender roles in juvenile incarceration and educational levels there is still missing research on how juvenile incarceration affects someone’s reach to a higher educational level. Therefore, my research question was: How does juvenile incarceration affect educational levels and how does that vary by gender? I hypothesize that boys who have been in juvenile incarceration centers before will earn lower levels of education than girls who have been in juvenile incarceration centers. I conducted my study by using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), 1994-2008. My sample size included 217 participants who were females or males who had been convicted as juveniles and had completed a higher level of education. To test my hypothesis, I used a T-Test, and my findings were not significant (P=.475). What my findings mean for the importance of my topic is that further research needs to be done.